Thomas Schleiden

High efficiency oil separator for crankcase ventilation in passenger car applications

Blowby is an aerosol which is produced in the crankcase of an internal combustion engine. The root cause is a gas leakage, which occurs at the piston rings of the combustion chamber, at the valve shafts and at the bearings of the turbo charger. At the same time different kinds of atomisation mechanisms and also condensation cause a significant loading of the blowby with small oil droplets. The amount of dispensed oil and also the particle size distribution of the droplets depend basically on the engine design and the operating conditions. In general the particle size ranges from a few microns down to nanometres. Additional components of the blowby are fuel, water, soot and other products of the complete and incomplete combustion.